Compromising Positions
by Kuma Kuma
Summary: Based on the conversation Natsuki, Shizuru, and Dr. Yohko have by the pool in episode 9 of My Otome. This is my version of what Natsuki may have gone through during her own survival hike. Mai/Natsuki friendship story with a little bit of shiznat love.


Survive This!

This story takes place during Natsuki Kruger and Mai Tokiha's first year at Garderobe Academy. The two have been partnered during the annual survival hike, which is being hosted by the Nation of Cardair. I created this story because I wanted to expand upon the cryptic conversation Midori, Shizuru, and Natsuki had by the pool during episode 9 of My Otome. This story focuses on the friendship between Mai and Natsuki, but there are a couple of cute shiznat moments thrown in.

Disclaimer: I do not own My Otome! I also did not create the legendary Manbearpig, that honor goes to Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

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With every step her burden became heavier and the air she breathed more stagnant. Her pace through the dense woods slowed to a near crawl, and it seemed as if no ground had been covered in the torturous 6 hours since this ordeal had started. In front of her kneeled the cause of her pain, and thoughts of murder flashed dangerously through her mind.

"Hey Natsuki!" shouted the object of her ire. "Bring that bag a little closer. I've found some amazing wild carrots...at least I think they're carrots."

"Are freaking kidding me Tokiha!? This bag already weighs a ton and it stinks like you wouldn't believe. Why in the world would I allow you to place anything else into it, especially if you aren't even sure that it's edible!" exclaimed a very pissed off Natsuki Kruger.

"Oh they're edible, and that stinky bag you've been carrying around is going to ensure us a top score tonight. Cardair mushrooms are world renowned and can cost a pretty penny when ordered in a restaurant. The fact that I found some out here is sheer luck. You'll be thanking me later when we finish this survival hike in first place!" said Mai with a smirk.

"We need to first get to the finish, Mai! We're already half-way through the first day and haven't covered more than 10 or 15 kilometers thanks to your incessant need to stop every 10 minutes to pick mushrooms and dig around in the dirt to find...[Natsuki gestured as wildly as the pack would allow] ...carrots, potatoes, onions, and who knows what else. We need to get going if we're going to arrive at the destination point before we're old and gray! Oh, and why do I have to carry this bag since you're the one so desperate to collect all of this crap?!" vented Natsuki.

Mai noticed a vein in Natsuki's forehead that looked suspiciously like it was going to burst any second. Realizing she was probably in some hot water with her survival hike partner, she decided to appease her without much argument.

"Alright, chill out Kruger. We'll pick up the pace after I collect these carrots. I also promise to do my share of hauling our spoils around. I just needed you to carry it so I could harvest what I needed. Tomorrow we'll make up for lost time because I've collected more than enough edible plants to feed us and the Sempai who will be grading our meals for the next two nights."

Seemingly satisfied with Mai's explanation, Natsuki relented and allowed Mai to add her most recent find to the already bulging bag.

"Say Mai, why do the Cardair mushrooms smell so bad anyways? I mean, I've picked a lot of mushrooms in my day, and I can honestly say that none of them smelled like my baby brother's diaper on a hot summer day like these do, "Natsuki inquired.

Frozen on the spot, Mai debated whether or not to tell her the truth. Risk death now or later? If she found out the reason for the incredibly pungent stank that emanated off the delicious fungus after she had ingested it, Natsuki's wrath would surely be greater. However, there was always the chance that she never would find out. It wasn't as if cooking or horticulture was of any interest to her.

Mai decided to lie.

"Oh, no real reason. It's just the plant's natural defense to prevent predators from eating it."

"Well it would work on me. Blech! I can't believe these things are a delicacy. I bet Shizuru likes them..." Natsuki said with a wistful look on her face.

Mai gave Natsuki a knowing smile and said, "Don't worry, you'll be reunited with your precious person soon enough."

Natsuki blushed, "Baka!"

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Later that evening, and a good 15 kilometers from their location earlier that afternoon, the two girls found a small clearing and worked in tandem to set up camp. Mai expertly put together a cooking station and set a couple of snares around the clearing to try and catch a small animal to add the night's meal. Natsuki in the meantime collected firewood and managed to get a nice blaze going.

Natsuki peeked over a busy Mai's shoulder and asked, "So what are we eating tonight?"

"Well, I think I'll try and keep it simple and just make a soup. If one of my traps manages to snag something we'll even have some meat in it!"

The thought of butchering an animal immediately turned Natsuki's stomach and she turned a little green. While not a vegetarian by any means, she'd never been able clean and gut an animal without feeling like she was going to lose her own guts all over the ground. Knowing this about Natsuki, Mai assured her she would butcher what she caught.

"Geez Natsuki, for being such a tough girl you sure are a wimp," Mai teased.

"Ah, shut it!" growled the brunette.

Mai laughed as she picked up her knife to finish chopping the vegetables. "Hmm, are you sure your surname really isn't McWimperson, or Littleweenie, or..."

"I said shut it!" raged a red-in-the-face Natsuki.

Mai just continued to laugh as she chopped the veggies and placed them into the pot of water boiling over the fire. Mid chop she suddenly stopped and turned white. Natsuki noticed the absence of laughter, and immediately rushed to Mai's side to see what was wrong with her friend.

"Oi Mai, what's wrong? Your face is suddenly pale," said Natsuki as she knelt down by her flame haired partner.

"Finger...cut...blood..." stammered a very shaken Mai as she clutched her left hand within her right.

"What?! Did you cut off your finger? Oh crap let me see it!" said a frantic Natsuki as she attempted to peel Mai's right hand away from the injury.

"No!" Mai yelped. "I don't ..I can't look at it again! It's so horrible".

"I said let me see," grunted Natsuki as she tackled Mai to the ground. The injured girl fought like a wild cat and Natsuki had to use her own body to keep her from getting away. Sprawled on top of Mai and more than a little out of breath, the dark haired girl finally managed to make the cook release her injured hand.

"Are you kidding me? You're freaking out over this? It's just a small cut. I mean you just offered to completely butcher an animal and you nearly gave me a heart attack because you grazed your own finger."

Mai whimpered, "I can't stand the site of my own blood. Ever since I was a kid it's just freaked me out."

"Who's the wimp now," said a very smug Natsuki. "I'll take care of it you big baby."

Very gently she placed Mai's finger in her mouth, because she had heard that it was a good way to clean a small wound.

With complete silence an auburn haired figure floated down from the sky and landed next to duo sprawled out by the fire.

"Ara, am I late for dinner? I didn't realize Tokiha-san was on the menu. Is Natsuki-chan to be dessert?" said a very familiar and dangerously cold voice.

With Mai's finger still in her mouth, the brunette looked up only to see the object of her affection standing over their bodies, with arms crossed and crimson eyes narrowed.

"Oh crap, Shizuru, you're here!" exclaimed Natsuki as she spit out the appendage. Shizuru Viola's eyes took on a frightening gleam after this outburst. "No, I mean I'm happy to see you! This isn't what it appears to be."

"Really, well it looks to me like my Natsuki is all sweaty and is sucking on Tokiha-san while lying on her body."

"Oh well yes, but no...it's just because she cut her finger and I was trying to help her," the nervous dark haired beauty stammered as she quickly got to her feet. Reaching down to help Mai up, she made a point of showing Shizuru the offending cut.

"Very well, I accept your explanation, but antiseptic would be a better choice to clean her wound. Human saliva has more bacteria than a dog and can cause infection," Shizuru's eyes suddenly seemed to glow as she turned in Mai's direction. "I hope Tokiha-san doesn't let my Natsuki endanger her in the future with such behavior. You may have lost that finger..."

"Uh thanks for your concern... I think...Umm I'll go and finish preparing dinner," said a very uncomfortable Mai as she quickly scurried away.

Left alone with her Sempai, Natsuki looked up at Shizuru with puppy dog eyes and whispered, "Sorry if you got the wrong impression Shizuru. You know you're the only one in my heart."

"And you hold the key to mine," confessed Shizuru as she pulled the dark haired beauty into a tender hug.

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"Tokiha-san, I am very impressed with the meal you've prepared for us tonight. You receive a top score!" said a very satisfied Shizuru.

"Thank you Oneesama!" squealed a delighted Mai. "See Natsuki? I told you it was worth taking a little extra time to gather these ingredients."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't go all cocky on me," said Natsuki in a good natured voice. "You were right and I appreciate your effort in preparing dinner. It really was spectacular; however if I never gather Cardair mushrooms again I'll be just fine. The smell they emit before cooking almost isn't worth the taste. "

"Ara, these were Cardair mushrooms?" said a shocked Viola. "My, no wonder the taste was so exquisite. I hope they weren't too fresh or you girls may have gotten into a spot of danger."

"Danger? What do you mean Shizuru?" asked a baffled Natsuki.

Mai immediately attempted to signal the number one Pearl to keep her mouth shut, but to no avail.

"Oh, doesn't Natsuki know? These mushrooms only grow from the feces of a creature that lives in this region. It is said that this animal looks to be part pig, part bear, and some reports say part man. While nobody has ever been killed by one, they are believed to quite vicious," explained the Otome.

"I just ate poop mushrooms! Tokiha I'm going to kill you," screamed an enraged Natsuki as she grabbed a small butter knife off the table and chased a laughing Tokiha into the woods.

"Mou, and I had hoped to have my dessert tonight, "pouted the Pearl.

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"Aargh! I can't believe you Tokiha! Not only do you feed me gross "ass" mushrooms last night, but you go and lose our map today!"

"I think I left it by that stream we crossed about 5 kilometers back," said Mai thoughtfully. "I know I checked our location then. Hmm, or maybe it fell out of my pocket when we swung over that ravine on those vines 20 minutes ago. We could go back and check."

"If it fell out of your pocket it's a lost cause. There is no way we'll be able to climb down that ravine safely to retrieve the map. Even if we did manage to climb down it would take us nearly all day just to make it back to this point, and we need to be at the finish by noon tomorrow. If it is at the stream, we're out of luck there as well. We couldn't cross that ravine again even if we wanted to," seethed Natsuki.

"Ok, ok, it was just a suggestion. Maybe we should just push the button on our arm bands and have one of the Pearls come pick us up. Were only about 60 kilometers in and haven't checked our direction in nearly 45 minutes," sighed a very disappointed Mai.

Natsuki, seeing her friend was truly sorry for her mistake, decided she'd back off and try to brain-storm a solution to their dilemma. "Well, we still have our compass and we know that the destination point was bearing N/NW from our location at the stream. We've been on a constant course bearing of 320 degrees since our last location check, so theoretically we should be headed straight for the finish line. I say we push ahead and keep going. I mean, for the love of Fumi, we're Corals #1 and #2! We should be able to complete this task with or without a stupid map."

Natsuki's good cheer and encouragement took Mai by surprise, and she immediately became infected with Natsuki's optimism and gave her a thumbs up. "You're right! We'll finish this quest and become the first Otome pair in history to do so without a map! "

**** 30 minutes later****

"Crap I can't see anything! The vegetation has become so thick it's like we're moving backwards. Are you sure this is the right way Tokiha?"

"This is the compass bearing we know we have to follow. If we try and go around this mess we risk getting lost...worse than we are now, " mumbled Mai. "I'm pushing the rescue button."

Natsuki lunged at Mai, "No! We can still make it!"

The momentum of her lunge forced the two of them through a tangle of branches and vines. The girls expected to hit ground immediately, but the ground never seemed to come. Feeling a vine touching her arm, Natsuki instinctually grasped it with both hands and Mai latched on to Natsuki's waist. With a jolt the two suddenly stopped, and they realized that they were suspended over a very steep cliff with jagged rocks below.

"Please tell me you managed to push the button on your arm band before I tackled you," whispered a freaked out Natsuki.

Mai grumbled, "Yeah, don't worry. Your slow ass didn't stop me...ah crap!"

"What, what!? Did it fall off of you?" yelped the dark haired Otome.

"Uuh no, it's not that...oh no, stop, stop!"

"What's going on!"

"It's your shorts, they're slipping down your legs..."

Mai attempts to readjust her grip, but only manages to completely pull Natuski's shorts off her waist, leaving her facing a pair of very impressive lingerie.

"Whoa! You have really nice panties Natsuki!"

"Baka! Don't look at them!"

"That's all I can do right now...unless you'd like me to take them off too?" questioned Mai with smirk.

"Ara, ara, I seem to be disturbing you girls yet again. Shall I leave you alone?" said the number one Pearl floating nearby in her materialized robes.

"Shizuru! How did you get here so fast?" blurted out a surprised Natsuki.

"Well as soon as your distress signal was received I materialized and flew out here as fast as I could...but it appears as if you two may wish to have a little privacy, ne?" Shizuru explained with more than a hint of amusement in her voice. "I didn't realize Natsuki liked it so dangerous and rough. I may have to get some pointers from you Mai-san."

"Aaargh! This is not happening!" bellowed the blushing brunette.

"Kawaii, my puppy is so adorable when she blushes!" said the transfixed Otome.

"Shizuru this isn't the time to tease me," Natsuki pleaded with her Oneesama.

"Mmmmm.....so cute," moaned a lusty Shizuru.

"Uh, Shizuru-sama...I I think I'm beginning to slip again," stuttered out Mai in fear.

Natsuki could feel Mai's fingers pulling on her panties and panic set it.

"Oi, what are you doing Tokiha....No, don't grab there!" screeched Natsuki.

Just then the lacy panties slid down revealing the brunette in all of her glory to Mai and Shizuru. Blood spurted from the Pearl's nose immediately, and the look in her eyes took on a glaze of undeniable desire. Without thinking Natsuki let go of the vine to cover herself, and the pair plummeted towards the rocks below.

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At the destination point Natsuki and Mai did their best to clean themselves up after the ordeal they had just gone through.

"I can't believe she just floated there staring at us until I let go of that vine," said the exasperated brunette.

"I can believe it, which is why I took matters into my own hands."

A look of utter confusion crossed Natsuki's face. "Eh, what are you talking about?"

"You think those panties came off by accident? She probably would've been happy looking at you in your fancy lingerie all afternoon, and frankly Natsuki you haven't had a bath in two days. My nose had better things to do than smell your nether regions. I knew that if they slipped down just enough you'd freak out and let go."

"Baka! We both could've died! How stupid can you be Tokiha!"

"Quit your bitchin' Kruger. Sempai wouldn't have let us die...at least she wouldn't have let you die which is why I was holding on to you for dear life."

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"Oi, Bubuzuke! Isn't that your room attendant chasing Mai Tokiha with a butcher knife?" said the number two Pearl Haruka Armitage.

Shizuru smiled softly and set down her cup of tea. "Ara, so it is. I guess I shall have to go save that kind Tokiha-san from my Natsuki."

The End

Omake

Haruka: Bubuzuke you've been different since you got back from grading Tokiha and Kruger last night. You get food poisoning too?

Shizuru: Ookini for your concern Haruka-san. I am merely disappointed that I was unable to enjoy my dessert last night...it ran away.

Haruka: Eh? What kind of dessert runs away?

Shizuru: Puppy...

Haruka:........

Shizuru:........

Haruka: You...uh...that's so wrong...

BEEP! BEEP!

Haruka: Oh we have distress signal from Tokiha and Kruger. I'll go and..

The locater was snatched out of Haruka's hand by a blur and she heard a faint voice from many kilometers away that sounded like Shizuru, "I'll save you Natsuki!"


End file.
